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9/11: The Day Time Stood Still

As the thousands of names of all those who perished on 9/11 are called out, our prayers, thoughts and love go out to all those immediate family members left behind.

We all remember what we were doing that day.

The day time stood still.

I was living in a small little village in Northern Ireland at the time when I got a phone call from a friend. She asked me if I was watching TV and if not to turn it on. As I did the second plane hit the second tower. Like millions of others across the world, I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. It was surreal and horrifying all at the same time. The people in the planes, those in the towers, those running though the streets engulfed by clouds of debris – the shear horror of it all.

In those few hours, fear took over the world – but it was only for a moment…

Never Forgotten

(AP Photo/Doug Mills)

The strength of God and the resilience of man immediately shone through – but at a heavy price. Hundreds of first responders – who ran towards thousands of perishing lives – lost their own. You cannot train people to do this – they are born to do this.

The passengers in the hijacked planes frantically made calls home to loved ones – leaving heart-rendering, last messages of love.

Good, decent people whose lives were stolen, must never be forgotten.

In the days that followed the President of the United States, George W. Bush had the unenviable task of trying to bring not only America together but the world. His words of encouragement and boldness to those at Ground Zero has become one of the most iconic moments of hope. It lifted us all.

Hands on Heart

As we stand for all of those, in a moment of silence, we must also remember that the death toll continues to rise from the aftermath of 9/11. Tens of thousands of first responders who worked at Ground Zero, the Pentagon and Shanksville, continue to feel the effects of that day. The toxic environments has claimed the lives of these gallant men and women, who gave no thought to themselves. Their health deteriorating daily, every moment continues to be a fight.